Yuan Shikai nodded, then thought deeply for a while, and then said after a while: "It is useless for the Germans to stay in Qingdao. It is not good for them to stay, and it is not good for them to leave as soon as possible. Staying will only continue.
It was an excuse to provoke the British and Japanese to attack, but once they left, Qingdao's defense dropped sharply. If something went wrong on the Liaodong side, Japan would turn around and continue to attack Qingdao. It would be difficult to defend Qingdao with our garrison alone.
"
Lu Zhengxiang speculated: "This possibility is still very small. I met with the British Minister alone the day before yesterday. Although Britain, France and Russia are still supporting Japan on the surface, this is just a superficial effort to abide by the Allied Powers.
That's all. Mr. Zhu Erdian told me clearly that there is a limit to their tolerance for Japan's insistent attitude, and even used the word 'stupid' to describe the actions of the Japanese troops stationed in Japan."
For Yuan Shikai, this seems to be good news, but from many years of experience in dealing with great powers, these foreigners often have two opinions. The key lies in the direction of the situation.
After a pause, Lu Zhengxiang added: "Furthermore, Mr. Zhu Erdian also told me a piece of news. The Japanese army stationed in Lushun launched a brazen attack this time without the approval of the Japanese Army Ministry, and the Japanese cabinet and the North Korean Governor-General
The government is reprimanding the Lushun headquarters. Obviously, the operation of the Fifth Division was just a one-sided accident, which is still very beneficial to us at this point."
Yuan Shikai breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression still did not slow down. He said: "No matter what the situation is at the Lushun headquarters, the North Korean Governor's Mansion, or Japan itself, in the short term everyone is still paying attention to the war situation. Unless we
You can put on a good show, otherwise it's all just talk."
Lu Zhengxiang nodded heavily in agreement and said nothing more.
After Lu Zhengxiang's introduction was completed, Fu Liangzuo hurriedly stepped forward and said: "President, Cai Chengxun sent a message. The Sixth Division of Central Yang left Jinan yesterday and moved to Weifang. The leading troops are expected to arrive within three days.
Weifang, and sent an advance delegation to Jiaozhou for the first time. In addition, the three gunboats of the Second Fleet, Haining, Haibo, and Haiyuan, have set off from the Bohai Headquarters base three hours ago and are expected to enter Jiaozhou Bay early the morning the day after tomorrow."
The Second Fleet is one of the three fleets currently under the jurisdiction of the Beiyang Navy and is located in the north. However, since the Sino-Japanese War, China's naval power has been stagnant. The so-called fleet does not have ocean-going power at all. The Bohai Naval Command is also far away
The Liaodong Peninsula is relatively close, and the Navy Ministry was worried that the warships dispatched to Qingdao would encounter the patrol ships of Japan's Second Fleet midway, so they had to quietly dispatch them at night.
Seeing the Japanese Navy's Second Fleet providing powerful artillery support to the Army in the Liaodong Peninsula, while the Chinese Navy is still sneaking out of the port, it really makes people feel helpless and ashamed.
Yuan Shikai said "hmm" and said: "Well, in short, when our troops march into Qingdao, we must make a great momentum, be as big as we can, and be as good as we can. At this time, we don't have any
What else can we hope for, is that the hearts of the whole country should be tied to this matter."
Fu Liangzuo nodded solemnly and replied: "I understand, I will do it without leakage."
After taking a deep breath, Yuan Shikai looked up at Fu Liangzuo and asked, "Do you have any new ideas over at Zhiquan?"
Fu Liangzuo was slightly startled. He couldn't understand what Yuan Shikai meant for a while. After a while, he guessed a rough idea. He hesitated for a moment and then said: "Back to the President, Chief Duan is still worried about the Liaodong war.
This period of time is mainly about preparing military supplies and arranging support troops..."
Yuan Shikai didn't wait for Fu Liangzuo to finish speaking, and raised his hand to interrupt him. In fact, he knew Duan Qirui's character very well from beginning to end, and his question just now was unnecessary.
Although Duan Qirui is headstrong, he is upright and dedicated to Beiyang. Now that he has finally managed to talk about a unanimous foreign policy, he will naturally do his best to make suggestions for the war.
However, he still worried about the imperial system in his heart, and he didn't know whether his decision to insist on regaining Qingdao this time could be an important opportunity to win over Duan Qirui to his side.
"You will bring a message later. This battle in Liaodong is of great importance. I have completely delegated power to the Army Department to handle this matter. Zhiquan must not betray my trust. He must go all out and give the Japanese at all costs.
Let me take a look at my appearance." Yuan Shikai said earnestly. Since the beginning of the Liaodong War, he has not only mentioned the Ministry of War once or twice, but the reason why he still said such words was to create a hint for Duan Qirui.
"I understand, and I will convey it to you in full." Fu Liangzuo said without hesitation.
"Although the war is tight, I believe that a mere Japanese army division cannot make a huge difference. If reinforcements are needed on the front line, Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanxi provinces can immediately dispatch reinforcements." Yuan Shikai gave instructions, and his statement seemed to
There is no big grudge, but using the strength of the whole country to deal with a Japanese army division must still be very shameless. I just say this in the hope of stabilizing myself and everyone else's emotions.
When I returned to Huairen Hall from the State Affairs Office, it was already two o'clock in the morning.
Yuan Shikai did not take a rest immediately, but after washing up, he went to the private study on the second floor of the backyard, where he drafted a telegram. The telegram was to be sent to Yang Du and others who were still in Shanghai. On the one hand, the content was to request the Security Council to gather at present.
In view of the situation in Liaodong, the propaganda work of the imperial system has been increased. On the other hand, it is still hoped that the Security Council can continue to support China's recovery of Qingdao in a positive way.
He had to admit that half of his thoughts were on Liaodong, and the other half was still on the issue of imperialism. After all, his decision to regain Qingdao was originally based on using this matter to pave the way for imperialism.
However, as far as the current war situation in Liaodong is concerned, it does not seem to be very clear, and there seems to be a big crisis hidden in it.
There must be a way out when doing things. If there is a battle in Liaodong, he will do his best to preserve the reputation of himself and the Beiyang government, and use the pressure of domestic and foreign public opinion to make the final diplomatic effort.
After arranging for someone to send the message, Yuan Shikai went back to his room to rest.
However, when the sky was slightly brighter, the attendant's office received an emergency call from the Army Department in Beihai, and they hurriedly woke Yuan Shikai from his sleep. The Army Department had received two letters from Fengtian a few dozen minutes ago.
Urgent telegram, the content of the first telegram was to inform the Japanese fleet to suddenly carry landing troops and launch a landing raid on Yingkou at five o'clock in the morning; the second telegram was to inform the Yingkou General Headquarters about the sneak attack on Dandong planned five days ago.
Planning related.
Whether it was the Japanese army's landing operation at Yingkou or Yuan Su's plan to sneak attack on Dandong, both of them were crucial events. Yuan Shikai didn't bother to lose his temper, and he didn't even wash up and tidy up in a hurry.
Putting on a coat, he left the atrium of Huairen Hall, took a carriage from the side door and ran straight to the Beihai War Department compound.
As soon as he got off the carriage when he arrived at the Army Ministry compound, he saw Duan Qirui hurriedly walking in the corridor. However, Duan Qirui had just received the notification and hurried back to the Army Ministry from his residence. Yuan Shikai did not stop.
Duan Qirui followed closely and rushed to the War Department Operations Coordination Office.